NBA Rumors: JR Smith Would Be a Disaster for NY Knicks

The New York Knicks are closing in on signing free-agent guard JR Smith, a great scorer that plays little in the way of defense. That means the last thing they need may be bolstering their roster shortly. 

New York Daily News beat writer Frank Isola reports, via tweet, Smith may very well be on his way to Manhattan. He also does a great job of including mention of the very reason things are going so well for the Knicks currently. 

Yes, it's a Jeremy Lin world, and we all just happen to pay rent here. I applaud the Knicks and their supposed newfound guard/forward in Smith. There is still room for doubt, as ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reports the Clippers are the other front-runner at the moment.

Smith has it made, as there are no two better teams to play for right now. It is a no-brainer for any player to want to suit up for the exciting Clippers or the team of the moment in the Knicks. That doesn't mean this is a two-way street, though. 

The Knicks are riding a seven-game winning streak in which they have succeeded mostly on the back of one Jeremy Lin. 

Lin is not going to keep up his string of wins or laying down 20-plus points per night, and he may even have issues with turnovers. 

However, the guy can score and plays very well in Mike D'Antoni's system. The puzzling part in all this is that some have questioned how Carmelo Anthony will fare once he comes back into the lineup. 

You see, this team was without its best player and prolific scorer, and will soon have to make room for him. The Knicks just recently saw Amare Stoudemire return to action. 

This team can score, but the obvious notion of how the ball and points will be shared, let alone the limelight, has to be addressed. 

I am of the thinking that Anthony will come back with absolutely no issues on the court. Lin showed in the Knicks' recent win over the Kings that he doesn't have to score for New York to be effective. 

He only shot six times but racked up 13 assists in the process. However, they are about to include yet another wing player that will need the ball to be productive. 

Smith is not a shutdown defender, and is not even a good one at that. What he does bring is an uptempo style, some grit and the ability to score. 

The Knicks already have an overabundance of all of that. 

The team stalled when they couldn't get Melo and Stoudemire to gel on the court, but that should be remedied with a pass first point guard in Jeremy Lin. He will spread the ball out evenly. 

With Smith, the breaking point will not be that far off. There is just not enough ball to go around. 

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